


A Lesson in Loyalty

by MilliesSong (SirensSong)



Series: Life Lessons [4]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alpha Armitage Hux, Alpha Phasma, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Kid Fic, M/M, Omega Kylo Ren, Past Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 04:41:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12183078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirensSong/pseuds/MilliesSong
Summary: Kylo Ren is no stranger to weeding out traitors from within the First Order. But with an infant to look after, an attempted coup is a little more personal.





	A Lesson in Loyalty

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by my darling RottenRice!

He wasn’t really asleep, much as he might have liked to be. Dozing was a better term, just slipping in and out of a light, uneasy rest. Sleeping, truly sleeping, was impossible here in Hux’s office. The mound of blankets in one of the corners behind Hux’s desk, a wall on one side and the brilliance of the galaxy on the other, through the transparisteel floor-to-ceiling viewport, worked as a makeshift nest. It was decently comfortable and smelled right enough that the baby would sleep, and that was all that really mattered. The fact that Kylo couldn’t find true sleep within it was a minor inconvenience at worst. 

He would rather have been back in their quarters, in bed, where he could actually rest. Unfortunately, Cassia’s ill-timed desire to exist meant that the extended time they should have had to just linger in their quarters, letting only close friends into their space, just wasn’t a possibility. And while Kylo could put his missions on hold for a few months while she was very little and incredibly demanding of their time, handing them out to his Knights instead of taking them himself, Hux did not have the same leeway. The Finalizer still ran, and he was still her General. He’d managed to do his job remotely, from his datapad, for a month. It had given them enough time to bring Cassia up from the tiny size she had been to a more normal one, where she could be safely inoculated, but that was it. Hux was required on the bridge. Kylo could have stayed in their quarters with the baby, but without Hux nearby to share the protective instincts between them, he was on high alert and couldn’t even achieve the light doze that he could while joining Hux in his office. 

So this was the better option. Even if it did leave Kylo damning the handful of instincts being on suppressants his entire adult life hadn’t managed to strip from him. 

He was still exhausted. Hux was, too. Sleeping more or less in shifts took its toll, especially when so often that sleep was only barely restful. 

The soft tapping of Hux’s fingers and the occasional murmur of his voice while he answered someone’s question over comm were both lulling, at least. It wasn’t Hux that was more effective when it came to protection, but that knowledge didn’t fully drive away the comforting aspect of having the Alpha close by, obviously awake and aware. 

Kylo had just managed to slip back into a doze when the door to the office opened suddenly with a whoosh of air and mechanical whirring. There had been no chime to indicate someone was requesting entry, and no verbal confirmation from Hux to grant said entry. What bit of relaxation Kylo had found vanished immediately as he snapped fully awake, immediately casting out around him with the Force to get a feel of what was going on without having to move. Mainly because moving was almost guaranteed to wake up the baby curled against his chest, and that was the absolute last thing he wanted to cause. Once awake, she took ages to get back to sleep, fussy as she was. 

Hux had gotten to his feet almost as soon as the door opened, and there was an indignant fury beginning to build up in him. His hands pressed against the top of his desk and he leaned into it slightly, one blaster on his hip and another easily within reach, set to the side of the desk, where his command cap was also discarded for the moment. “Orders are very clear not to disturb me unless absolutely necessary, and under no circumstances is my office open for anyone to stroll into as they please,” he said, and though his tone was even, there was obvious anger buried in it, and steel behind that. “And that does include you, General Borgin, as a guest on my ship.”

Oh, right. Kylo had forgotten that the Finalizer was due for inspection. Another of the members of High Command was there for observational purposes, for a week. Hux went himself, a handful of times every standard year, to check on the other ships in the fleet. Kylo had never accompanied him, nor did he usually pay any attention when the Finalizer was being inspected. It wasn’t as if anything was going to be found amiss, after all, she was the model every other commander was trying to match. The inspection was nothing but an unnecessary formality, but one Hux insisted on himself. 

“What a nice office you have here,” Borgin said, completely ignoring Hux’s obvious request for him to get out. He was an older man, from the generation that had seen the fall of the Empire as adults, rather than one of the younger officers like Hux. One of Brendol’s ilk, and with just as nasty of a reputation as the long-deceased Commandant. Along with the generational gap came of host of issues, including vastly different views on the different sexes. Kylo could feel disdain rolling off of Borgin toward both of them; at Hux, for being so much younger and yet more powerful, despite his slim stature and lack of typical Alpha aggression, and at him for being an Omega in a position of power, especially one as respected and feared as the Master of the Knights of Ren. No doubt his current position, curled up in a mound of blankets watching the stars drift by with a barely month-old infant asleep in his arms only exacerbated Borgin’s irritation with him and the power he held. But despite all the animosity the older general held, his tone was pleasant and conversational and he held himself loosely, relaxed and confident.

Borgin strolled forward, toward Hux’s desk, his hands clasped behind his back. Two others accompanied him, officers of lower rank. Hux was only just keeping himself from baring his teeth and snarling at the trio, Borgin especially. He could see from the corner of his gaze how tense Kylo was, and felt just the same himself. All three of the intruders were Alphas, they posed a direct threat just by virtue of their sex, even had their intents been entirely innocent. Currently not even Phasma could come so close without risking some bodily harm, no matter how bad both Kylo and Hux felt about keeping her away from the child that, should anything ever happen to them, would go into her care. So these three, who obviously came with ill intent, were unwelcome on so many levels. 

“Beautiful office, beautiful ship… I think we’ll rather like it here, don’t you agree?” Borgin asked, when it didn’t seem as if Hux was going to dignify his previous comment with a response. “So much better than the tiny Destroyer I’ve been relegated to for some unfathomable reason.”   
  
“You’re lucky you were able to keep your rank and your command at all, after the battle you lost us with your blatant disregard for orders,” Hux snapped, his hold over his temper quickly fraying. Under normal circumstances he would have been more level-headed, but these were far from normal circumstances. 

As Hux spoke, the two officers flanking Borgin both raised blasters, training them on him. The short, high whine of the weapons being charged from stun to kill was largely drowned out by Hux snarling, finally. His gloved fingers dug into the top of his desk, but he didn’t reach for either of his own blasters. He wouldn’t be fast enough. If not for Kylo in the corner of the room, he might have been concerned. As it was, he was just furious that someone would dare attempt this, and baffled that they were stupid enough. 

Borgin had never really been known for his intelligence, though. Even Kylo knew that, for as much as he didn’t care about the officers on any of the other ships. 

“And you’re lucky I’m willing to offer you a quick, clean _discharge_ ,” Borgin answered, his expression smug as he pressed one hand to Hux’s desk and leaned over it, getting into his space. “Come without a fuss and perhaps I’ll even let that useless Omega in the corner live, as well as your bastard. Since you’ve been willing to abandon your command in favor of it.” He paused, heavy satisfaction leaking into his tone. “I might have guessed a bastard child would be your downfall. Perhaps it’s a Hux family curse, considering your father’s bastard was his.”

Kylo had been silent up until that point, nursing his own quiet fury. People that dared to threaten Hux always got on his nerves, and it had happened a handful of times since he had been stationed on the Finalizer. Too many people misinterpreted his cooler head as a weakness and thought they could take advantage of it. Even before Hux had begun courting him, Kylo had taken a visceral pleasure in gutting the would-be usurpers. Since then, it had only grown, the threat to his Alpha also a direct insult to him, which wasn’t something he tolerated often. Still, it could be tolerated. Someone daring to insult their child, however, was another story. “If I were you, I would seriously consider apologizing, getting back to your shuttle, leaving this Destroyer as quickly as you can, and praying to whatever deity you believe in that I don’t catch you,” he said finally, without moving. He still had yet to even lift his head, still mildly hopeful that they might get out of this situation without Cassia waking up. Not that it would save Borgin’s life or the life of anyone else who had known about the attempted coup, but it would buy them some time. 

“You keep your mouth shut, Kylo Ren, or I’ll kill that sickly little whelp in front of you,” Borgin spat, the facade of pleasantness breaking all at once as he stood straight again and turned to face Kylo’s corner. He managed to say his name like it was an insult in and of itself. Kylo was almost impressed. “You have no right to speak to a general of the First Order anymore, not after lowering yourself into raising the bastard child of a bastard child, and I’ll see you dead just as quickly as this pathetic excuse for an Alpha. After all, you’re of no use to the Order anymore, you’re nothing but another Omega bitch.”   
  
Every time Borgin opened his mouth, Kylo was mentally adding on another minute or so of excruciating pain to his death. Between spearheading this little coup against Hux, the constant litany of insults, and the fact that this was now undoubtedly going to end in Cassia being woken… By the time Kylo let him die, he’d be begging for it, just to escape the anguish. 

“Threaten him or that child one more time-” Hux started to threaten, and Kylo closed his eyes, sighing quietly. Hux was usually so reasonable and would have just let him handle the situation. Damn all these instincts making things messier for both of them than they needed to be. 

Predictably, one of the officers seemed to decide enough was enough and fired their blaster at Hux. Kylo raised his right hand, freezing the bolt in midair for a moment before reversing its trajectory, sending it into the chest of the man who’d fired it. The body slumped to the floor with an ugly sound, and Kylo sighed again, loudly this time, as Cassia began to fuss against his chest, escalating into howling within seconds. Waking her up was enough for him to be murderous all on its own. Since the game was up now, Kylo unfolded himself from his curl, adjusting the baby to make sure she was bundled in one of the blankets as he sat up and then levered himself to his feet. 

He was dressed only in partial uniform; from the waist down he was formal, with his heavy boots and uniform pants. He only had on a black tank top that he generally trained in, however, instead of his typical robes. The skin contact helped to keep the baby calm. He also had his hair pulled back in a loose bun, strands of it falling into his face thanks to Cassia’s tiny hands pulling it out of the hair tie, before she’d fallen asleep. All in all he was sure he looked rumpled, exhausted, and now furious as well, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He was sure the sight of him was still enough to strike fear into the hearts of anyone with a modicum of intelligence. 

“I gave you a chance to leave, and now you’ve woken up my very hard to put down infant,” he said quietly, and as far as he was concerned, that was probably the worst offense. It was hard to be angry about the other things currently, considering how little sleep both he and Hux were running on. Though the implication that they had abandoned their duties to the Order was also incredibly insulting. It wasn’t as if Cassia had been planned, and they had both done everything possible to make sure Hux still fulfilled all his duties as General. In terms of his own duties, he was simply glad his Knights were all understanding of his need for a few months without missions. But it certainly had not lessened his power any, and anyone who thought it had was too stupid to continue living, anyway. Putting them down like a sick animal would be a mercy, really. 

Without needing to be asked to, Hux started towards him, and the still-alive officer adjusted his blaster to follow him. There was a distinct tremble to his hands now, though. 

“You don’t want to do that,” Kylo said mildly, a flick of his fingers ripping the weapon from the man’s hand and sending it flying across the room, clattering against the floor. Borgin, for his part, was just staring at him with a wide gaze, as if he really had believed Kylo no longer had any powers to speak of. 

Free of blasters trained on him, Hux finished walking to Kylo, taking Cassia from him and immediately turning his attention to trying to soothe her. Kylo allowed himself a small, fleeting smile as he listened to Hux croon and whisper assurances and apologies to the baby. Hux wasn’t concerned about the threat, that much was obvious, and Kylo reveled in the first spike of fear coming from Borgin, who seemed to be finally realizing his mistake. 

Taking his time, Kylo walked over to the desk and pulled a spare pair of his own gloves from one of the drawers, pulling them on while he studied the two remaining officers. He stifled a yawn, rolled his head to get his neck to crack, and then casually raised a hand, lifting the remaining lower-ranking officer into the air by his neck and sending him flying along the same path his blaster had taken. His head cracked hard again the durasteel wall, his lifeforce, dull as it had been, went out entirely, and Kylo let the body drop. 

Turning his sights on Borgin finally, Kylo smiled to himself, taking immense pleasure in the sheer terror he was being regarded with. He had no sympathy for the idiot, and laughed when he began to move his hand slowly toward the blaster on his hip. “Oh don’t be stupid, what good do you think that’s going to do you?” he asked, genuinely amused. “You do remember what you just saw, right, how effective your men’s blasters were? Come,” he snapped, tone suddenly much darker as he rounded the desk, striding toward Borgin and winding loops of power around his neck, tightening them, tight enough to hurt but not enough to cut off all air intake. He wasn’t going to make it that quick or easy. “We’re going to go somewhere far enough away that your screams won’t upset my child more than you already have.” 

As he dragged Borgin out of Hux’s office, he just managed to catch Hux’s voice requesting a biohazard team report to his office to remove the detritus. 

The bridge team stared openly as Kylo marched onto the catwalk, shoving Borgin down onto his knees. “If anyone would like to admit to taking part in or knowing of the coup attempt staged by this scum here, your General might be merciful enough to send you to reconditioning instead of meeting my saber,” he said, setting one booted foot between Borgin’s shoulder blades and pressing him down against the floor. He waited for a few moments, but only silence reigned around him. “No one? We do this the hard way, then,” he added with more snap to his tone, his patience already long run out, not that he’d had much to begin with. 

No one on the bridge was spared the search for any treachery through their minds, though Kylo was distinctly more gentle with some of them than the others, leaving Hux’s favorites with as light a touch as he could while still making sure they were loyal. Those ones, especially the Lieutenant Hux favored so much, he only searched as a matter of formality, rather than any real suspicion. But he had to be sure, or else he wouldn’t be able to relax and sleep once this was finished.

With how drained he felt even after just the bridge crew, by the time he finished his sweep of the ship and dealt with Borgin, he was going to need that sleep even more desperately than he already did.

~-~

The biohazard team arrived only a few minutes after Hux had requested them, fortunately. They made quick work of removing the two bodies and any traces of the fight - if it could even be called a fight, with how quickly Kylo had dispatched both. What was important was that with the office cleaned up, Hux could settle down into the nest with the baby, making himself comfortable in the space Kylo had carved out within it. Almost immediately Cassia settled some, though she was very obviously still unhappy. Hux did his best to make her comfortable, and then tapped the comm device on his wrist. “Captain, please see to it that all the hangars are locked down and escape pods sealed. No one is to leave this ship until Kylo has determined it to be clear,” he said, closing his eyes as he did in hopes that it would alleviate the headache he could feel building. 

He opened his eyes again when the comm chirped at him, and he selected a different button, allowing a tiny holo of Phasma to project above it, over his wrist. “Consider it done, sir,” she answered, saluting as she did. Hux would have expected that to be the end of it, but she wouldn’t have requested the holo transmission if it was. Sure enough, she only paused long enough to relay a few orders before speaking to him again. “I have reports that he’s on a rampage, ripping through the officers’ quarters and killing people seemingly indiscriminately. What happened?”

Sighing, Hux bunched one of the pillows closer and dropped his head down onto it. There was little point trying to remain professional with Phasma, anyway. She understood how exhausted he was. “Our visiting general apparently staged a coup. Barged into my office and made stupid threats. Kylo’s taking care of everyone who knew about the plot against me.”

“Ah.” Phasma looked distinctly displeased, but that was expected. She was loyal to him, after all. And to Kylo as well, though that friendship had taken some time to build. There was quiet between them for another few moments, only the baby’s whining breaking the silence, and Hux started to open his mouth to dismiss Phasma when she beat him to it. Her voice had lost all its professionalism, now, softening into genuine concern for a friend, rather than a commander. “I can hear Cassia crying, Hux. Is she alright? Do you want me to send a few troopers up to escort you back to your quarters, or a team of medics up to you?” 

“No, no, she’s fine and none of that is necessary,” Hux hurried to assure, before Phasma took it upon herself to do both of those things no matter how much he protested. Still, a small smile curled up the corner of his lips, pleased that his captain was so concerned. He looked forward to when she could actually be around in person again, without her scent putting both him and Kylo far too much on edge. “I’ll wait for Kylo here and head back with him. If he comes back here and we’re not waiting for him he wouldn’t react well, and the bridge crew doesn’t need to deal with that.”

“All right,” Phasma agreed, though it was obvious she wasn’t pleased with his decision. “Why is she still crying, if there’s nothing wrong?”

“Because she seems to enjoy it,” Hux said, his smile widening a little more. Despite the exhaustion and how fussy she was, he still loved the child with everything he had. “And because I’m neither as soft nor as warm as Kylo is, so I’m not her prefered parent at the moment. She’s just making her displeasure known and trying to summon her mum back.” She would settle soon enough. Hux hoped, anyway. If she didn’t, then she would as soon as Kylo returned, and would hopefully tire herself out enough to go back to sleep as soon as they reached their quarters. Hux didn’t have any hope of her settling back into sleep in the time being, though. Once up, she was up for at least an hour, no matter how short of a time she’d slept for. 

Phasma’s brow creased slightly in concern, but she didn’t protest. “I’ll send some troopers to assist Kylo and hopefully speed up his little cull,” she offered finally, and Hux simply nodded, tiredly.

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” he agreed. “Thank you for your assistance, Phasma.”

Taking the hint, Phasma straightened up and saluted again. “Get some rest, General,” she said, before the holo blinked out of existence. 

Hux lowered his hand with a sigh, running his fingers down over Cassia’s back and settling her a little closer to his own chest, feeling one of her hands curl into the fabric of his uniform. “‘Get some rest, she says,” he repeated quietly, rolling his eyes, though his expression was fond. “You make that a little easier said than done, don’t you, little one?” His only answer was another high-pitched whine that bled into a quiet sob. “Oh yes, I know, you like mummy so much more than me. He’ll be back soon, I promise. As soon as he finishes protecting our honor, he’ll come right back to you. He always does.”

~-~

As much as Kylo would have liked to rip into Borgin immediately, he was more concerned with making sure no one escaped that had known about or participated in the coup. So he left Borgin locked in a conference room near the bridge, without his blaster and the vibroblades he’d also had on his person. There was a small amount of pleasure in breaking the door as he left to make sure there would be no chance of anyone other than himself getting it back open from either side. 

Content that the idiot who’d headed the whole thing was safely contained for him to deal with later, Kylo headed for the section of the Finalizer that held the lounges and living areas for the officers. To his luck, one of the lounges was absolutely packed full with officers who were prematurely celebrating the promotions they would receive once Hux had been unseated and replaced. The absolute terror in some of them once they caught sight of him was immensely satisfying, and disposing of them one by one almost made how exhausted he was going to be after this worth it. The team of troopers that showed up shortly after irritated him initially, but after being able to leave them to finish disposing of the last quarter or so of the officers while he continued his hunt, he found he was somewhat grateful for their presence. It meant less energy that he needed to expend as he continued combing through the living quarters, saber in hand and lit, ready to cut his way into any room that he needed to in order to get at someone who had been part of the treachery. 

Once he’d finished with the living quarters, Kylo headed for the hangars, ignoring the way a headache was beginning to pound at the back of his head, his body’s protest to everything he was doing. It was hardly the most he had ever exerted himself, far from it, but being so sleep deprived tended to make his powers a little less than what they were otherwise. He was stretching himself too thin. The headache was more of a nuisance than anything else, but he would still rather not have to deal with it.

Inspecting one of the hangars, Kylo was about to deem it cleared when one officer, who he must have missed somehow, made a break for one of the shuttles. He wasn’t expecting it, and didn’t quite move immediately, instead just watching him for a few seconds. Before he had a chance to shake himself out of it, let alone indicate that the man needed to be brought down, a blaster bolt sent them sprawling across the floor, immediately dead. Kylo turned and looked at the trooper that had reacted faster than he had himself.

“You,” he barked, watching the trooper immediately snap to attention. “What’s your call sign?”

“SK-2764, sir!”

“I like you,” Kylo said, not even bothering to try and recall the number. He was so far from his best currently, he could barely even be mad at himself. “Quick reflexes, good shot. Tell Captain Phasma to promote you, or something. Some kind of reward. Tell her I authorized it.” 

“Sir, yes sir!” 

Kylo nodded, and then turned to leave the hangar. He had one more to scan, and then he could deal with Borgin. And finally return to his quarters and sleep, if Hux had gotten Cassia back to sleep, stars granting. It wasn’t likely, but he could hope.

~-~

As exhausted as he felt while sweeping the final hangar, the walk back toward the bridge and the conference room where he’d left Borgin bolstered Kylo some. He’d done his job to protect Hux and the ship and weeded out everyone who had known about the coup. Now, he could deal with the scum that had headed it personally. Which wasn’t usually something he bothered to draw out when these uprisings happened, as they did more frequently than he cared to think about. But this time he had a more than usual personal vendetta. On most occasions, he was just annoyed that yet another idiot had taken steps to try and unseat Hux, and that annoyance only leant itself to serving a quick death. But Kylo wasn’t generally exhausted from a month of rarely sleeping more than three hours at a time if he was lucky. And he also had never before been furious about the child that kept him awake so much being woken barely even half an hour after she’d fallen asleep, just because some ignorant old Alpha thought having a child meant he would lose his powers, for some unfathomable reason. 

Really, he should have been angry about that, the insult in that thought, and fury on the behalf of other Omegas as well, that so many still thought they were useless if they took a mate or had a child. He should have been angry about the insult to Hux, when he knew he’d been running himself into the ground, trying to balance the Order and the child without neglecting either. He should have been angry that he had to patrol the damn ship and kill over a hundred officers, angry that so many people who should have been loyal had agreed with the coup. 

Honestly, though. He was more angry about Cassia being woken up than any of the rest of it, because Hux probably still hadn’t managed to settle her down again yet. It just meant even less sleep for both of them for the day. And it was hard to be angry about anything more than losing sleep, all things considered. 

He was going to kill this poor excuse for a general, he was going to do it slowly, and he was going to _revel_ in it.

Kylo dragged the door open and then closed it again behind him with the Force, the grinding of the metal more unpleasant than the last each time he touched it. Borgin was roughly where Kylo left him, which was satisfying enough. The thought of him being too terrified to even try to escape is amusing, not that he would have succeeded even if he had tried. 

“All right, now that everyone involved with your coup is dead, it’s finally time for you to die as well,” Kylo said, keeping his tone just as conversational as Borgin’s had been when he’d first entered Hux’s office. “And really, that was a pathetic attempt. Others have gotten much closer to actually managing to kill Hux. They don’t usually, you know, forget to factor me in. Generally it’s wise to try and attack while the Force user isn’t on the ship.”

“I wasn’t about to wait for a nesting Omega to leave the side of his Alpha,” Borgin spat, apparently not quite terrified into silence, not yet. Kylo almost smiled. “It might have taken years. Which was exactly why I had to move so quickly. The Order can’t be run by a pair more concerned with their sickly little brat than the Order itself. Hux should never have survived to adulthood himself, weak creature that he always was. To have him reproducing at all is shameful.”

Kylo was gracious enough to let him finish his spiel, almost amused by how red the old general’s face had become. Of course some of what he said was true, Kylo was well aware that Hux had not been a healthy child, or treated very well, and that his surviving his father’s abuse had really only been thanks to Rae Sloane. That childhood sickliness was likely part of why he was still so slim in stature now. Anyone who thought that made Hux weak in his adult life, however, was a shameful fool. 

Rather than answering immediately, Kylo pulled out a chair from the conference table and sank down into it with a quiet sigh, letting his legs splayed wide as he relaxed against it. The position was one of confidence and power, and he could see the way it irked Borgin further, to watch an Omega act so like an Alpha in front of him.  

Kylo lifted a hand, then, curled his fingers just so, and watching as Borgin suddenly curled over with a gasp of pain, clutching his right hand to his chest. One of his fingers was obviously bent backwards, though the click of the bone snapping had been too quiet to hear. 

“I love having an excuse to get rid of old cretins like you,” Kylo said finally, deciding since Borgin was too occupied with the minor pain of a broken finger that he might as well fill the silence. It was better than listening to a pathetic old man whimper over a minor injury. “You do nothing but drag the Order down with your archaic views. The Order has prospered under Hux, and the arrival of our daughter has not interfered with that in the slightest. Any rational officer can see that.” He allowed himself to smile, then, just slightly, and broke another one of Borgin’s fingers when he opened his mouth to speak again. “Now you’ve done me the favor of showing me almost one hundred non-rational officers, no longer fit for their posts. I’m sure those weren’t the last of them. They’re welcome to try their own coups, and see what happens when they fail.”

After all, there was no chance of any of them succeeding. Hux was well protected, and damn hard to kill even if he was cornered on his own. People tended to forget he was dangerous even in his own right. Kylo wasn’t concerned. 

For a little while, he continued to take his time, cutting off each of Borgin’s attempts to say something else with another minor broken bone. He’d lost track of his mental tally of how long he wanted to make the old general suffer, so he was more testing the limits of his own patience than anything else. He knew Hux would be restless, alone with Cassia. Not because he wasn’t competent with her, but just because it was hard for either of them to manage on their own with her, for now, hyper protective as they both were. An unfortunate side effect of barely having a bonding period. 

Finally, when Borgin was long passed tears and had moved somewhere closer to barely coherent begging, Kylo decided he’d really played with him long enough. His bed was practically calling to him. Groaning quietly as he stood, Kylo rolled his shoulders, wishing some of the tension there would fade. He didn’t give it more than a moment’s attention, crouching down in front of Borgin’s crumpled form and running a hand back from his own forehead, brushing the loose strands of his hair back towards the sloppy bun, out of his face. 

“I’m not doing this because of your insults to General Hux or myself,” he said, his tone cold. “I’m not even doing this for the sake of the Order, though it will certainly be better off without you running one of its Destroyers into the ground.” He paused, waiting until Borgin managed to collect himself enough to meet his gaze, all the fury and hatred he held for him still painted across his expression despite the way it was also twisted with pain. “I want you to know,” Kylo continued slowly, “I’m doing this because you were stupid enough to wake up my child and think you could get away with it.”

Something hotly indignant curled in Borgin’s expression, but Kylo was at the end of his patience. He stood, clenched his fingers into a fist, and listened to the final, satisfying snap of a neck breaking behind him as he headed for the door. The damned thing opened with an awful screech that left Kylo wincing and raising a hand to press to his temples, where the headache from before had just continued to grow, steadily aching now. He left it hanging open, Borgin’s broken body visible for anyone who passed to see, and crossed the bridge to Hux’s office without speaking to anyone. Wisely, none of the officers on shift tried to speak to him, either. 

At the door to Hux’s office, Kylo paused and considered the pad next to it for a few moments, wondering if he should announce himself. But then, with what had just happened, no one else would dare just walk into the General’s office. And in the very unlikely chance that Cassia was asleep, he didn’t want the door chime to wake her. Of course, the first sounds that greeted him when he stepped into the office were those of her quiet fussing, and Hux’s equally as soft hushing sounds.

It was an endearing sight, to see his Alpha curled in the nest of blankets in the corner of the office. It gave him a little bit of insight into what he looked like to those who spoke with the General, when he was the one curled within it. Hux shifted to look at him over his shoulder, then, and Kylo let his musings drift away, instead walking closer.

“I take it everything’s clear, then, and Borgin taken care of?” Hux asked, as practical as ever.

“All finished,” Kylo confirmed, stripping off his gloves and tossing them back into the drawer of the desk, sure it wouldn’t be the last time he needed them. And Cassia was very clear in her distaste for the feeling of leather against her skin, they’d figured that out within the first few days. “I see you’ve had less luck here than I have with everything else.”

Slowly sitting up, Hux grimaced, his hair rumpled from having run his fingers through it, disturbing the gel. Cassia whined, protesting the change in position, and Hux immediately ran a hand over her back, the motion comfortable and automatic. “You know how she is, when she wants one of us rather than the other,” he said with a sigh. Despite the pounding in his head and the bone-deep exhaustion, Kylo smiled slightly, small but so much warmer than the threatening ones he had given Borgin. 

“Absolutely inconsolable,” he agreed quietly. It was another reason why it was just easier for them to stay together. Kylo had heard plenty of stories of children being content with either parent as long as they were being given the right kind of attention, but of course Cassia would be pickier than that. Even now, only a few feet away, he could feel her little Force presence tugging on his own, insistent that he give her his attention. Her vocal protestations were growing louder, too, unhappy to still be in her father’s arms. 

“Too much like her mother,” Hux added, just gently teasing, as he finally got to his feet and passed the baby over. Saying she settled immediately would have been an overstatement, as she wrinkled her nose and closed her eyes, seemingly displeased by Kylo’s smell, but she did stop fussing vocally, at the very least. 

Kylo rolled his eyes, making to turn away, eager to retire to their quarters now. Hux caught him before he could, though, stopping him with a hand on his cheek, the touch of his fingers light but still enough to stop him. Letting himself be guided then, Kylo found his forehead pressed against Hux’s, staying quiet while Hux’s thumb traced lightly underneath one of his eyes.

“I wasn’t aware it was possible for these to get darker,” he said quietly. Kylo frowned, realizing he must be talking about the dark bags under his eyes, which would definitely have darkened thanks to the strain he’d just put himself under. He might have bristled at the comment, if not for the obvious concern in Hux’s gaze, and exactly how close that gaze was to his own. “All right, love? Didn’t push too far?” 

“I’m all right,” he assured, just as quietly, and shifted so his nose brushed lightly against Hux’s, before pulling back entirely. He was fine, of course, but that didn’t mean he wanted to stay on his feet for any longer than was necessary. Walking to the nest, he stooped down just enough to swipe his well-loved cowl from the nest of blankets, wrapping it around Cassia so there was something that smelled properly like him around her while they walked, rather than smelling vaguely like blaster fire and fear. Hux set a few things to rights while Kylo wrapped her up, and then he was commanding the lights off entirely, opening the door long enough for Kylo to slip through and locking it behind them. 

Kylo took off immediately, shoulders curled slightly to hide the baby in his arms, still uncomfortable with having her in public, no matter how brief it was. Hux lingered behind on the bridge only for a few moments, speaking quietly with a handful of officers and squeezing Lieutenant Mitaka’s shoulder once before he set off as well, falling back into step with Kylo only a few minutes later. 

Reaching their quarters was always a relief, these days, but today more so than possibly ever before. Kylo sighed heavily as soon as he stepped into the bedroom, knowing he should shower before going to bed, to erase the scents of fighting from his skin, but the energy for that evaded him. He could shower after a brief nap, and then a little bit of reorganizing would take care of making sure the faintly unpleasant scents were buried at the bottom of the nest. And hopefully by then Cassia would settle with Hux, though bringing her into the shower with him if not was certainly no hardship. She would take after Hux, in that way, overly fond of water. 

Moving almost on autopilot while he considered the next few hours, Kylo slowly stripped off his clothing while idly watching Hux prepare and warm up a fresh bottle, just to have that bottle pressed into one of his hands only moments after he’d settled down into the bed, his hair loose now and Cassia held to his bare chest, where she had settled surprisingly easily once he’d removed the unpleasant-smelling shirt. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly, shifting enough so the baby could nurse with ease. He’d decided against going on the hormone that would have encouraged him to produce milk of his own, and he didn’t regret it, honestly. It was more even, this way. Hux could nurse Cassia just the same as he could, and while he had never voiced anything about it, Kylo knew Hux was glad for that, small a thing as it might have seemed to someone on the outside. Kylo already had a Force connection with her, something Hux would never be able replicate. So it was good, to be able to share the bond that came with nursing. Though Kylo didn’t ever plan on doing this again, now that they had their child, if it ever happened, he would gladly let things follow the same course and give Hux the same role. 

The bed dipped on the other side, and Kylo smiled slightly as Hux settled in beside him, similarly bare from the waist up. He had a datapad in his hands, though, predictably. Kylo couldn’t bring himself to chastise him about it, either. Hux would rest when he could, when his job was done. That was all either of them could do, for now. This hard, sleepless time would pass. 

“Thank you,” Hux said after long, quiet minutes had passed. Kylo’s eyes had closed, but he opened them again to peer over at him, arching an eyebrow slightly in silent question. “For protecting us, again,” he clarified, reaching out to tuck a lock of dark hair back where it belonged. Kylo leaned into his touch, just a little. “For protecting the integrity of the Order, and me, despite how worn thin I know you are. Thank you, Ky.”

A huff of laughter escaped Kylo. “I was more angry about him waking Cassia than anything else,” he admitted, watching Hux laugh quietly as well. He probably wasn’t surprised. “Still, Tidge, you dense Alpha. Protecting you and the Order is my job. You don’t need to thank me for it.”

“I’m still going to,” Hux insisted, and Kylo just closed his eyes again, instead of rolling them. Hux’s hand stayed in his hair, and Kylo didn’t protest it or anything else. He didn’t need to. He could let himself rest, confident that Hux would take the bottle once Cassia finished it, equally confident that if something needed his attention, Hux would wake him without hesitation. Kylo would take care of the Order whenever he needed to, outside their quarters. And within them, he could relax and let Hux take care of his family. 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come chat with me at asklordren.tumblr.com!


End file.
